


Six Times Vanya Helps Her Siblings and One Time They Help Each Other

by Athenowl



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: 6 + 1, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Siblings get along (mostly), Some Fluff, Some angst, Umbrella Academy as kids, Vanya is a GOOD PERSON, escape from the academy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-11-23 01:56:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20884262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Athenowl/pseuds/Athenowl
Summary: Six times Vanya Hargreeves lends her siblings a hand and one time they work together.A collection of short stories from when the Hargreeves siblings are all 13, some canon divergence.





	1. Luther

First came the creaking, followed by the sound of a scuffle. Vanya rolled her eyes as muffled cursing and thumps echoed down the staircase, bracing herself for the inevitable Luther vs. Diego daily smackdown.

But, no, that couldn’t be right. Dad had taken the others into town for a press conference and Pogo was reprogramming Mom in the lab, which meant…which meant someone was in the house.

Cold fear shot through Vanya as she set her violin and bow down with shaking hands. Summoning every scrap of courage, she crept upstairs, carefully avoiding the creaky steps as she grew closer to the noise. It was coming from the hall by the library—there were plenty of windows around there that would make it too easy for someone to break into the Academy.

_What if it’s a crazed fan_? she thought as she edged around the pillar on the landing. _What if it’s one of the bad guys from the bank, back for revenge? What if it’s_—

“Luther?” At the end of the hallway, with the front half of his body hanging out the open window, was infallible Number One.

Luther stopped struggling immediately. “This isn’t what it looks like!” He tried in vain to wiggle free of the window frame, but his legs were just a couple of inches too short to reach the floor.

Vanya pressed her hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter. “What are you doing?”

“I was _trying_—” Luther grunted and kicked frantically before giving in with a defeated sigh. “I was trying to see Dad’s helicopter, but my shoulders got stuck and…yeah.”

Vanya opened the adjacent window and stuck her head out so she could hear Luther better. He looked pale, sweaty, and absolutely miserable. “Why aren’t you with everyone else?”

“I’m sick, remember?” He gestured to his rumpled pajamas with a pathetic sniffle.

“Nobody told me you were sick.”

“Yeah, Dad didn’t want me getting the others infected, so he quarantined me in my room. Could you stop gawking and get me out? My arms are going numb and my sinuses are going to explode if I keep hanging here.”

Vanya bit back a smile and ducked back inside, wrapping her hands around Luther’s bare ankles. “Okay, don’t kick me in the face. One, two, three!” She threw her whole body weigh backward and Luther didn’t budge. Goodness, thirteen-year-old boys were heavy.

“Ow, ow, ow, stop it!” Luther yelped. “You’re supposed to get me out of the window, not break my spine!”

“Sorry,” Vanya dropped his legs and blew a strand of hair out of her eyes. “Can you tilt sideways and slide out?”

“Gee, Vanya, I wish I’d thought of that.”

“You’ve been spending too much time with Five. I’ll get some butter from the kitchen. Don’t go anywhere.”

Forty-five minutes and three sticks of butter later, Luther slipped free of the window frame and fell face-first onto the floor with a shriek. One of his feet slammed into Vanya’s chest and they both laid there for a few seconds, panting, before dissolving into uncontrollable giggles. “You—I thought I was going to be there all afternoon!” Luther wheezed.

“Me, too.” Vanya’s ribs were starting to ache from laughing and she punched Luther on the arm playfully. “You ruined my practice session, you big jerk. Oh, ew, you’re all buttery.”

“Whose fault is that?”

“Yours! You got yourself stuck! I believe the proper response is ‘Thank you, Vanya, my savior and idol’.”

“Not a chance.” Luther stood, smiling, then turned green and swayed dangerously. “Ugh, I should have stayed down.”

“Probably,” Vanya agreed. “Hey, we make a pretty good team.”

“Yeah.” Luther’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Yeah, we really do. You should come hang out with the rest of us during free time on Saturday instead of playing your violin. We need a referee for soccer and Ben’s _awful_ at it.”

Vanya blinked. She had never been explicitly invited to play a game with her siblings before, let alone by Luther. “Really?”

“Sure, you saved my life,” Luther joked. “It’ll be fun.”

“I’d love to!” Vanya beamed at him and barely stopped herself from bouncing up and down with excitement. A happy buzz filled her ears—Number One was asking ordinary Number Seven to hang out and _it wasn’t a joke_. Even Dad couldn’t stop her from going if they all asked her to play. Oh, this was shaping up to be very exciting, indeed.


	2. Diego

In a house full of teenage superheroes, accidents were bound to happen, especially to the more reckless children. Diego was the usual victim of random minor injuries brought on by his own stupidity and it took some effort for Vanya to really feel bad for him; privately, she thought her knife-wielding brother was kind of a douchebag since he barely acknowledged her existence. He acted all high and mighty because his powers needed _skill_ and _practice_ and—ugh, Vanya needed a new book.

She was searching for the perfect novel when there was a crash and a loud, pained shout from downstairs. Worry spiked in Vanya’s heart and she hurried to the staircase, where she could see streaks of blood among shattered bits of ceramic.

“Number Two, get ahold of yourself!” Her father’s angry voice reverberated off the high ceiling like a clap of thunder and Vanya’s shoulders crept up to her ears on instinct.

“I’m sor-sorry, sir,” Diego choked out from somewhere to the left of the stairs. Even though they didn’t get along, Vanya felt a twinge of pity; getting hurt and then yelled at was never fun.

“And stop that foolish mumbling. Grace, take Number Two and clean him up. The rest of you, stop staring and resume your training!” Vanya slipped behind one of the marble pillars at the top of the staircase as footsteps came her way. Dad hated it when she eavesdropped, and he was already in a bad mood; she didn’t need that wrath coming down anywhere near her.

There was a swish of skirts and Vanya peeked around the column to see her mother leading a still-sniffling Diego into the hallway bathroom, where she sat him gently on the edge of the tub and wiped the tears from his face. “There, there, dear, you’ll be just fine. It was only a little tumble and those cuts are shallow.”

As she moved to get the first-aid kit, Vanya caught a glimpse of Diego’s palms, which were covered in a thin layer of blood and ceramic shards. She winced in sympathy when Grace began wiping his hands down with antiseptic and cleaning the cuts with quick clips of her tweezers. There was no way Vanya could leave her hiding place without being seen by either of them, so she squished herself tighter into the crease and listened to their mom hum softly.

Once Grace had taped the last strip of gauze into place and sealed it with a kiss, she sent Diego off to his room. “Vanya, would you do something for me?” she asked without turning away from the medicine cabinet.

Vanya froze, shocked that her mother had noticed her in her hiding spot, then carefully emerged. “Um, sure, mom.”

“I’m needed in the training room, and I think your brother needs a friend right now.” With a quick smile and a kiss to Vanya’s forehead, she swept off down the stairs, still humming.

Vanya shook her head in disbelief, but wandered to Diego’s room and knocked nonetheless. “It’s Vanya.”

A beat of silence. “Come in?”

“Are you alright?” Vanya poked her head in cautiously. One could never be too careful when one’s siblings had an affinity for sharp objects. “I heard the crash.”

“It w-w-was just a stupid vase.” Diego’s eyes were puffy and a little red. “I fell, but I’m totally fine.”

“I know. Do you want me to get you some water? It looks like gripping things would hurt.”

“Oh.” He looked down at his bandaged hands, seeming genuinely surprised by her offer. “Sure, thanks.”

Vanya returned with two glasses and a straw, then perched on the edge of Diego’s desk. “I heard Dad earlier,” she said quietly. “He shouldn’t have said that to you.”

Diego shrugged. “ ‘S not a big deal.”

“Still. It’s not fair to blame you for something you can’t control.” _Just like it’s not my fault that I’m ordinary_, she added in her head as she sipped her water.

The corners of Diego’s mouth twitched up. “I guess not. By the way, you were an awesome ref on Saturday. Way better than Ben—he always falls asleep.”

Pride and mild embarrassment warmed her from the inside out. “Oh, thank you! It was a lot of fun!”

“It was! Did you see Luther’s face when Klaus scored on him?” Diego’s back straightened and his whole face lit up as he scooted closer to the desk.

“He couldn’t believe it! I thought he was going to keel over.”

“Right? And then Ben tripped Five which was _totally _illegal—”

“and then Allison took the ball right out from under him!” Vanya finished. Diego’s excitement was flowing off him in waves.

“Exactly! We _have_ to do that again sometime.”

The door creaking open interrupted Vanya’s agreement. “Diego, your father wants you back downstairs to continue training. Oh, hello Vanya! What a lovely surprise.” Grace beamed at them, looking totally innocent.

“Oh. Okay.” Diego’s face fell. “Thanks for the water, Vanya. See you for soccer?”

She half-smiled as they left. “You bet.”


	3. Allison

The problem began at breakfast, when Reginald Hargreeves stood at the head of the table and announced a trip to town. At first, Vanya was excited—since it wasn’t a hero-related event, she would likely be allowed to go with her siblings. Unfortunately, Reginald wasn’t done speaking. “Numbers One and Three, your allowances have been revoked in light of…recent events. The rest of you will be provided with sufficient funds to purchase one small item. I shall take a moment to remind _all_ of you that being out of your beds between the hours of ten pm and seven am is strictly prohibited. You are dismissed.”

At the other end of the table, Allison and Luther looked like they would rather melt into the floor than be present a second longer. Allison had been so excited when she enlisted Vanya’s help in stringing fairy lights and coercing Five to buy sodas for her and Luther’s little party; it wasn’t fair that they were being punished for having fun.

The ride to the mall was deathly quiet. Klaus, who regularly snuck out at night, kept sending sympathetic looks to his siblings while Allison stared holes in the floor of the car. It was a miracle all seven of them didn’t fling themselves out the window to escape the suffocating awkwardness. “Remember,” Reginald said as the doors unlocked. “Be back here in one hour. No exceptions.”

Ben and Five made a beeline for the nearest bookstore and Vanya was hot on their heels until she saw Allison gazing into the beauty salon, practically fogging up the glass with how close she was to the colorful display. Vanya looked down at the money in her hand, then at the near-physical agony on her sister’s face as a glamorous woman strolled out with a bag full of makeup. Silently cursing her father for ruining a fun day out with her siblings, Vanya walked into the one place that made her more uncomfortable than the Academy.

She was instantly bombarded by glitter and blinded by the fluorescent lights from a rainbow of displays. Eyeshadow, lipstick, gadgets that looked like torture devices—she glanced down at her modest uniform and limp hair, feeling wildly out of place among those beautiful women on the ads. A shimmering bin along the back wall caught Vanya’s attention and she sifted through bottle after bottle until she found the perfect shades.

“Just these?” The cashier raised a skeptical eyebrow at her choices, giving her a quick once over. “Alright, your total is $12.”

“Thank you, miss.” Vanya handed over her allowance and slipped the bottles into her pocket with a delicate _clink_. She liked the sound—it was a perfect pitch. It took a lot of willpower to walk past Allison and into the bookstore without instantly spilling the beans, but by some miracle, she did it. The rest of the hour passed in blessed quiet as Vanya tried to think of a way to share the surprise without letting their father know what she did.

The ride home was less tense than the ride there, but that may just have been Vanya’s giddiness. She kept her lips sealed until after dinner, just barely managing to keep her hands out of her pockets, then skipped down the hall to Allison’s bedroom. “No offense, Vanya, but I’ve had a sucky day and I really don’t want to hear about your new book.” Allison was downright melancholy as she opened the door a crack. Her hair was going every direction and her clothes were all crinkled, like she had been laying face-down on her carpet again; it was a rare sight on Allison Hargreeves, fashionista.

“Good, because I didn’t bring one. Can I come in? I have a surprise for you.”

Allison perked up and opened the door the rest of the way. “What is it?”

“These.” Vanya held out the pair of nail polish bottles with a grin.

“Wha—you bought those for _me_?” Allison’s jaw dropped and she lunged for the colors, turning them over and over in her hands. “They’re beautiful!”

Vanya nodded happily. “You said you liked the coral one a couple of weeks ago, and you thought I would look nice with the turquoise. I figured you might want them for our next girls’ night.”

“You are the best sister in the entire universe.” Allison nearly tackled her in a fierce hug. “Oh my god, I can’t wait to show you how fantastic that turquoise will look with your hair.”

“I’m really sorry your party didn’t work out.”

“Yeah, Dad was a total jerk about it.”

“Dad’s a total jerk about a lot of stuff, but he doesn’t have epic nail polish to make up for it.”

“True.” Allison pulled away and held up the bottles. “How does an impromptu girls’ night sound?”


	4. Klaus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens! The stories get a bit more serious from here on out, but I tried to keep the sibling relationships wholesome!

After 13 years of living in the Umbrella Academy, Vanya knew her father was not a very good person. He yelled, he manipulated, and he crushed any non-Academy-related activities in an instant. He mocked Diego’s stutter and isolated Vanya for years. He pitted the siblings against each other and made having friends impossible. Reginald Hargreeves twisted his children around in ways Vanya still didn’t understand.

She never thought he would go this far.

The seven siblings waited at the top of the stairs in a nervous huddle as their father talked to the frightening bearded man at the front door. “I don’t want a tattoo,” Allison whispered shakily.Even Luther was ashen-faced.

“Children, come downstairs,” Reginald commanded. Following the others in the foyer was like following them into battle. The cushioned armchair in the middle of the room looked sinister in the bright light, and the five dining room chairs lined up on the right may as well have been electric. The stranger was sitting by the armchair with his tools spread out on a folding table.

“Alright, who’s up first?” the man asked, leaning forward with a smile. His feeble attempt to look friendly failed miserably.

“I’ll go.” They all turned to stare at Klaus in shock. His jaw was clenched.

“Brave kid,” the tattoo artist chuckled. “Okay, buddy, have a seat and we’ll get started.”

“Number Seven, go to your room.” Vanya’s stomach plummeted at her father’s sharp order. Just as she was gaining acceptance from her sister and brothers, he drove yet another wedge between them, and this one was far more permanent. “Number Seven!”

“Yes, sir.” Vanya turned and walked back upstairs, but not before giving her siblings her most reassuring smile. Even the thick door of her bedroom and a pillow over her ears didn’t block out the continuous buzzing from downstairs, though, and eventually she tiptoed to the banister. Diego was in the chair now; his lower lip trembled and for the first time ever, he brushed away Grace’s comforting touch. Klaus and Allison were hugging in the corner, and silent tears streaked down Allison’s cheeks as she stared at the black mark on her forearm. The other three sat in various states of palpable live-wire anxiety as they awaited their turn.

In that moment, Vanya hated her father. She hated him for making Allison cry, hated him for the fear etched on Ben’s gentle face, hated him for Klaus’ mask of courage. From her hiding place by the stairs, Vanya glared daggers at Reginald Hargreeves before storming back into her room.

As she left, Reginald discovered a new crack in the lens of his monocle.

The tattooing ended after four hours. Numbers One through Six trooped upstairs on wobbly to rest, and Luther could barely grab the doorknob with his trembling hands. Diego slipped into his room before Vanya could say a word. Allison broke down a second before her door shut. Five tried to spatial jump, but ran face-first into the door and slammed it open with a strangled breath. Ben was absolutely silent.

Klaus was the last one up and he slid to the ground outside his room, staring up at the ceiling, the walls, anything but his forearm. Vanya sat next to him, quiet as a mouse, and opened her book. She leaned ever so slightly against his side to ground him; Klaus was always so tactile. “You’re so lucky,” he said hoarsely. “Nobody pays attention to you.”

Vanya sighed and closed her book. “That doesn’t make me lucky, Klaus, it makes me lonely. How’s your arm.”

“I hate Dad.”

“Me, too. I would say ‘I hope he dies’, but you deal with him enough as it is.”

Klaus laughed weakly and wiped the back of his hand under his eye. “Y’know, the only reason you and Allison are tied for my favorite sister is that Ally lets me borrow her clothes.”

“You’re welcome to wear my clothes, Klaus.”

“Yeah, if I wanted to look like a grandma,” he teased, nudging her gently. “Get some sparkle on those sweaters and then we’ll talk.”

“So I’ve been told.” Vanya rolled her eyes and they sat in silence for a few minutes. “We should leave.”

“What?”

“We should leave. All of us. We should pack some clothes and get out of here before Dad does something like this again. Between Five and Ben there should be enough brainpower to form some kind of plan.”

Klaus grabbed Vanya’s hand and squeezed it. “I’m in. Let’s get everyone together after training tomorrow and figure this thing out.”

Vanya laced their fingers together and leaned her head on his shoulder. As loud as Klaus was, he never treated her like she was forgettable, and she appreciated him. “That was really brave of you, volunteering back there.”

Klaus exhaled slowly. “I was so scared. It really hurt.”

“I know. That’s why it was brave.” Vanya stood and helped him to his feet. “See you after dinner?”

“See you after dinner.”


	5. Five

One day. Vanya wanted one single day where things would go according to plan. She and Klaus had been sharing looks across the table at every meal until all that stood between the Hargreeves siblings and their big night of planning was afternoon training.

She knew convincing Luther would be tricky: to him, their father was the be-all and end-all of authority. Diego wouldn’t want to leave Grace, and Allison would only come along if everyone else was on board. Five, at least, had enough braincells to know their situation was bad, and Vanys knew Ben would do anything to escape individual training. They were _so close_.

It was Five’s turn for special training while the rest sparred and Vanya practiced her newest medley. The ‘Angel of Music’ bit was shaping up to be one of her most challenging pieces yet, so it was the perfect way to drown out the activity below.

“Number Five!” Reginald’s whip-crack voice cut through the soaring tune and Vanya stopped with a warbling note. “You cannot show this kind of weakness in training and _especially_ not on missions.”

“Dad, he’s shaking.” Allison sounded distressed.

“Up, Number Five.” The tip-tapping of Reginald’s cane grated on Vanya’s nerves. “Jump to the library.” There was a sizzling sound, like fresh Pop Rocks, followed by the tang of ozone and metal that was strong enough for Vanya to taste a full floor above.

A sharp _SNAP_ sent a wave of blue light washing over the walls as Five’s energy rebounded on itself and went flying outward. “I can’t, I told you,” Five panted.

“Insolence will not be tolerated. Try again.”

“Dad, he said—”

“Silence, Number Two!” The cane clacked on the tile again. “Number Five, spatial jump to the library.”

A series of loud pops echoed off the high ceilings. They were not the comforting hisses and fizzing of Five’s usual jumps—no, these sounded more like he was forcing his way through the rippling portals. Vanya tried pay attention to her music instead.

A gust of wind kicked up in her bedroom and sent her sheet music flying in a small whirlwind, and with a ripping sound, Five appeared, wavering on his feet. “Did I make it?”

Vanya could only stare. Parts of Five were sparkling translucent blue in rapid succession, going back and forth between solidly human and the same material as his portals, as if he were making a million jumps each second. Five glanced down at his hands just as they phased in and out and choked on his breath.

“No, no, I knew this would happen.” He stumbled to the side. “I told him this would happen and he wouldn’t _listen to me_.”

“Five, it’s—it’s okay.” Vanya’s voice cracked and she reached out slowly.

“Vanya,” he wheezed, staring at her with wide eyes. “Vanya, I don’t—” A section of his chest shimmered.

“Dad! Luther, Allison, somebody!” Vanya grabbed Five by the shoulders. “I’ve got you, alright? Don’t you dare disappear on me.”

Footsteps thundered in the hallway and suddenly they were there, all of them, watching with horror as Five shifted from here to there in the blink of an eye. A sob wrenched from his throat as the entire left side of his body flickered blue.

“You’re going to be okay,” Vanya said firmly, holding him tighter. “I promise. Just—just listen to my voice and ground yourself. Deep breaths. You can do this, Five.”

The blue shimmers slowed bit by harrowing bit until finally he was solid. He collapsed into Vanya and she held him close, her blood still pounding with adrenaline. She wasn’t even sure if he was conscious; his body was limp enough that she couldn’t hold him upright and they sank to the floor. A warm pair of arms wrapped around Vanya as Ben knelt beside them, closely followed by Allison, Klaus, Diego, and Luther. One by one, they joined the huddle until nobody was sure where one person’s arms began and another’s ended.

Reginald cleared his throat in the doorway. “You have the rest of the afternoon off.” He lingered for a moment, probably waiting for some kind of response, before exhaling sharply and vanishing back downstairs. _Pretentious bastard_, Vanya thought.

“We’re leaving tonight,” she said once she was sure he was out of earshot. “We’ll figure out a plan as we go. Five, do you have any ideas in the big brain of yours?”

Five settled back on his knees and straightened his jacket with a quiet sniffle. There was a familiar gleam in his eye. “Yeah, I can think of a few.”


	6. Ben

“Do you have it?” Luther whispered as Allison came around the corner of the hall. She grinned and held up a small backpack.

“In here,” she said, giving it a little shake. “Now we just need Five and Ben to give the signal.”

Luther furrowed his brow and scanned the early-morning darkness for movement. “Relax,” Vanya said, touching him on the shoulder. “That’s the third time you’ve checked in two minutes.” The three of them waited with bated breath, each heartbeat pounding like a drum and humming with anxiety. _Any minute, Dad could wake up and find us_, the back of her brain hissed. _Allison could drop the bag, or Klaus could fumble, or_—

“There!” Luther pointed out the window. Across the street, Five was waving both arms at them. He was silhouetted by a small shower of sparks from the fuse box above. “Where’s Ben?”

“We’ll find out soon enough.” Allison hefted her bag onto her shoulders and snapped twice; the sharp sound against the silence of the mansion made them all flinch. “C’mon, Klaus.”

It took a moment, but two more snaps answered and they began to creep down the staircase. Vanya prayed for a reliable memory as she picked her way around the weak spots in the wooden stairs until she could see her brothers by the front door, shrouded in darkness. “Ready?” Klaus waved cheerfully at them as they arrived.

“Let’s do this.” Luther nodded at the door. “I can’t wait to get out of here.”

Vanya raised her eyebrows and made incredulous eye contact with Allison, who shrugged. Klaus slid a bobby pin into the lock and wiggled it around until there was a soft _snick_ and the door swung open. All five of them exhaled in unison.

Alarms began to blare.

“Go!” Diego shouted, the first to recover from the shock. He shoved Klaus out the door and dragged Luther after him by the strap of his duffel as the houselights flickered on and blinded them all. Vanya hesitated for half a second, then followed at a flat-out sprint. They tore across the street and she collided with Five, nearly sending them both to the ground with a shriek.

“Where’s Ben?” she asked frantically as Luther led the others down the road.

“He got stuck. We were coming down off the roof and his foot got wedged in something, so he told me to blow the fuses and come back later.”

Vanya was close to strangling her brother, but she took off for the mansion. “We’ll catch up in a second! Tell the others to go straight to Griddy’s.” Five threw his hands in the air and disappeared in a ripple of light.

She hoisted herself up the old cherry tree outside the second-floor window and searched the roofline for signs of life in the near-total darkness. “Ben? Ben, it’s Vanya, where are you?”

“I’m here.” A patch of shadows shifted to her left. “My foot’s stuck.”

“I know. Can you wave or something so I can see you?” The patch wobbled again, but she could make out a faint outline. “Alright, I have a plan. Hang on, I’ll be right there.”

“How? Five couldn’t reach me and he said he’d bring someone tall, like Luther.”

The urge to throttle Number Five returned as she shinnied along the tree branch. “Five,” she grunted, clambering higher. “Is afraid of heights. I’m not.”

“No way.” Glee overtook the previous fear in Ben’s voice and Vanya smiled.

“Yes, way. Oh! I see your foot. Um, move it to the right a little, then up at a forty-five degree angle.” Ben’s foot wiggled and there was a loud grinding noise. “Woah, that sounded bad.”

“It’s okay, it was just the shingles,” Ben said. There was a small crackle and two knee-sock-covered legs swung down over the edge of the roof. “What now?”

“Jump to me.”

“_What_?”

“Trust me, Ben, I’ll catch you. The branch is closer than you think.” Vanya scooted a little further out just in case.

“You’re crazy.”

“Maybe a little. Are you ready?”

“Oh, what the hell.” Ben’s legs disappeared again. “One, two, three!”

Vanya stretched her arm out as far as it would go and felt the brush of Ben’s jacket against her wrist as her fingers closed around his forearm. The floodlights of the roof turned on just as they made contact and she could hear shouting inside the house. “Said I could catch you, not hold you,” she gritted out as Ben scrambled for a foothold.

“You can let go, I’m good.” He said below her. “Come on, the others are waiting for us!”

They slid down together and were off like a shot as soon as their feet touched the ground. Ben couldn’t contain a whoop of joy as they careened down the sidewalk at two o’clock in the morning with the Hargreeves mansion still wailing behind them. “We’re okay!” Vanya shouted. “I told you to keep going!”

“We’re not going to leave anyone behind,” Luther said as they caught up.

“You’re afraid of heights,” Ben gasped between giggled as Five turned a dozen shades of pink.

“FREEDOM!” Klaus hollered, flinging his arms out and spinning around as they ran for the neon lights in the distance.


	7. Vanya

“Oh, my God, we just did that,” Diego said numbly, staring out the window of Griddy’s Donuts. The others murmured their agreement in the post-adrenaline haze. “Like, we _left_. For real.”

“Yup.” Doughnut crumbs spewed from Klaus’ mouth and Ben threw a napkin at him. “We did.”

“What now?” Luther asked, taking a long sip of his hot chocolate, “I mean, we need to find a hotel or something, right? Somewhere where we can make money?”

Allison shrugged and reached for another doughnut. “Or we could hang here for a while and revel in our freedom. I, for one, vote for some well-deserved reveling.”

“Let the revels begin!” Klaus cheered, punching both fists into the air. The waitress gave them a dirty look and the whole table dissolved into giggles.

“I don’t think she’ll let us stay the night.” Vanya gestured at the woman behind the counter. “Besides, we’re still pretty close to the Academy. Let’s figure out next steps.”

“I’m with Vanya,” Five said. He sniffed his coffee, made a face, and set it down again. “Allison, can you ask the waitress about motels?”

“Why me?” Allison asked, cramming half a doughnut into her mouth.

“You’re the best liar.”

“Uh-uh!”

“Uh, huh,” the other six chorused. Allison rolled her eyes and slid out of the booth.

Five pulled a pen out of his bag and grabbed a handful of napkins, which he spread around the middle of the table. “What are some places that Dad goes to often?”

“Tailor.”

“Grocery store?”

“Hell, probably.”

“The bank.”

By the time Allison returned they had a solid list of spots to avoid, as well as several folded cranes, courtesy of Klaus and Ben. “There’re some good, cheap options around here. How far away do we want to go? Ooh, cranes!”

“Far enough that we won’t stumble into Dad, but close enough that we won’t get lost,” Luther said.

“So no less than five miles and no more than ten?” Allison circled a few names on the list. “These should fit. Other ideas?” For the next hour, the seven siblings bounced names around until they finally settled on a motel four miles from Griddy’s and six miles from the Academy, where they could afford one room for two weeks with the cash Allison took from Dad’s office. Their minimal allowances they had saved would go toward food.

The alarms from the Academy were blessedly silent when the Hargreeves kids left Griddy’s at four in the morning, all yawning as their brief, donut-fueled sugar high came crashing down. They arrived at the Sunshine Motel just past six, sweaty, exhausted, and glowing happily. The front-desk man didn’t blink twice when they handed him a wad of bills and asked for a room.

The Sunshine was by no measure a five-star motel, but Vanya couldn’t help smiling as they all threw their bags on the floor and piled into the pair of twin beds, pushing them together to more a mega-mattress. Somewhere out there, Reginald Hargreeves would be tearing his hair out in frustration while Vanya and her siblings enjoyed their freedom. Maybe someday, far in the future, they would go back to visit Grace and Pogo. Maybe.

Vanya knew this would not be easy. At age thirteen, they would need to push past years of pseudo-brainwashing and make a life without arousing too much suspicion. There would no doubt be fights and close calls, especially if the seven of them continued living together, but anything was better than the life they left behind.

“Are you guys still awake?” Ben whispered into the darkness.

“Yeah,” they all whispered back. Well, everyone but Diego, who answered with a loud snore.

“I’m really, really glad we left,” Ben said. “And I’m really glad we went together.”

“Same here.” Klaus laughed softly. “It’s just starting to sink in, honestly.”

“Mmmhmmm,” Allison agreed. “Feels like a dream.”

Vanya chewed her lip for a moment. “Thanks for listening to me.”

“Of course, V,” Five tucked closer against her side. “My only regret is that we didn’t do it sooner.”

“Hey, Luther?”

“Yeah, Vanya?”

“Why did you want to leave so bad? Dad loved you.” There was no bitterness in Vanya’s heart over that anymore, now that Luther had made his choice.

Luther shifted around for a moment, filling the room with rustling. “I didn’t, at first. I loved the whole hero thing and the missions, but then Dad started going too far. I didn’t like feeling helpless.”

“He was a decent trainer and a terrible father,” Allison said around a yawn. “Goodnight, guys.”

“ ‘Night, Allison.”

“Sleep well.”

“Don’t let the bedbugs bite because they are definitely here.”

“Oh, shut up.”

Peaceful silence followed. Who knew that a dingy motel room with peeling wallpaper and crunchy carpets would be a lightning rod of comfort for Vanya? Maybe it was the absence of dread in the pit of her stomach, or the cheerful buzz of people starting their day outside. Maybe it was feeling Allison’s fluffy—and slightly itchy—hair against her neck and Five wrapped around her arm like a koala. Maybe it was the knowledge that she would wake up later and find herself not in a fantastical dream but in a real-life place where she could be with her siblings without fear of punishment.

Maybe.

Vanya felt her eyelids droop before she could come to a definite answer and took a last look around the room as her eyes slid shut.

Outside, the sun was beginning to rise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End.
> 
> I cannot tell you all how wonderful it is to be done with this story!! To those of you who left comments and kudos: you are the Real MVPs and I love you forever. I could not have completed this without you!
> 
> Edit: All chapters were updated 8/7/20 for clarity, formatting, and general cleanup

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me on Tumblr at @wayward-demigod-witch! The username is goofy but I still like it!


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